SECOND SECTION

DECISION

Application no. 34997/06 by Abdulgafur BATMAZ against Turkey

The European Court of Human Rights (Second Section), sitting on 1 April 2008 as a Chamber composed of:

Antonella Mularoni , President, Ireneu Cabral Barreto , Rıza Türmen , Vladimiro Zagrebelsky , Danutė Jočienė , András Sajó , Nona Tsotsoria , judges, and Sally Dollé, Section Registrar ,

Having regard to the above application lodged on 21 August 2006,

Having regard to the decision to apply Article 29 § 3 of the Convention and examine the admissibility and merits of the case together,

Having regard to the formal declarations accepting a f riendly settlement of the case,

Having deliberated, decides as follows:

THE FACTS

The applicant, Mr Abdulgafur Batmaz, is a Turkish national who was born in 1973 and is currently detained on remand in the Diyarbak ı r D-type prison . He was represented before the Court by Mr M. Özbekli, a lawyer practising in Diyarbak ı r . The Turkish Government (“the Government”) were represented by their Agent .

The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.

On 12 September 1994 the applicant was taken into police custody as he was suspected of involvement in the activities of Hizbullah , an illegal organisation.

On 4 October 1994 the applicant was detained on remand.

On 24 October 1994 the public prosecutor at the Diyarbak ır State Security Court filed a bill of indictment , charging the applicant and 27 other persons with membership of Hizbullah.

On 18 November 1994 the Diyarbak ı r State Security Court held the first hearing on the merits of the case.

On different dates, other cases were joined to the case brought against the applicant and his co-accused.

At the end of each hearing the Diyarbak ı r State Security Court considered the applicant ’ s continued detention, either of its own motion or upon the request of the applicant. The court ordered the applicant ’ s continued detention on every occasion having regard to the state of the evidence, the nature of the offence and the gravity of the possible sentence.

According to the information in the case file, t he criminal proceedings against the applicant are still pending.

COMPLAINTS

The applicant complained under Article 5 § 3 of the Convention that the length of his detention on remand is excessive.

The applicant alleged that the length of the criminal proceedings against him is in breach of the “reasonable time” requirement of Article 6 § 1 of the Convention.

THE LAW

The Court received the following declaration from the Government:

“ I declare that the Government of Turkey offer to pay ex grati a 15,000 (fifteen thousand) euros to Mr Abdulgafur Batmaz with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned case pending before the European Court of Human Rights.

This sum, which is to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, will be converted into new Turkish liras at the rate applicable on the date of payment and free of any taxes that may be applicable. It will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court pursuant to Article 37 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. In the event of failure to pay this sum within the said three-month period, the Government undertake to pay simple interest on it, from expiry of that period until settlement, at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points. The payment will constitute the final resolution of the case. ”

The Court received the following declaration signed by the applicant:

“ I, Abdulgafur Batmaz, note that the Government of Turkey are prepared to pay me ex gratia the sum of 15,000 (fifteen thousand) euros with a view to securing a friendly settlement of the above-mentioned case pending before the European Court of Human Rights.

This sum, which is to cover any pecuniary and non-pecuniary damage as well as costs and expenses, will be converted into new Turkish liras at the rate applicable on the date of payment and free of any taxes that may be applicable. It will be payable within three months from the date of notification of the decision taken by the Court pursuant to Article 37 § 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. From the expiry of the above-mentioned three months until settlement simple interest shall be payable on the above amount at a rate equal to the marginal lending rate of the European Central Bank during the default period plus three percentage points.

I accept the proposal and waive any further claims against Turkey in respect of the facts giving rise to this application. I declare that this constitutes a final resolution of the case. ”

The Court takes note of the friendly settlement reached between the parties. It is satisfied that the settlement is based on respect for human rights as defined in the Convention and its Protocols (Article 37 § 1 in fine of the Convention). Nevertheless, in the particular circumstances of the case, the Court considers that the State should still ensure that all necessary steps are taken to allow the criminal proceedings in the present case to be concluded as speedily as possible, while taking into account the requirements of the proper administration of justice, or to release the applicant pending the outcome of these proceedings (see Yakışan v. Turkey , no. 11339/03, § 49 , 6 March 2007 , and Katic v. Serbia (dec.), no. 13920/04, 4 March 2008). In view of the above, it is appropriate to discontinue the application of Article 29 § 3 and to strike the case out of the list.

For these reasons, the Court unanimously

Decides to strike the application out of its list of cases.

Sally Dollé Antonella Mularoni Registrar President